Random thoughts, poems, jottings, and as it says, musings. About anything and everything!

Thursday, 29 December 2016

December Diary and Quotes

December Diary and Quotes

An amusement park in western Japan sparked an uproar after it displayed about 5,000 dead fish in the ice at a skating rink. Nothing like that in ours, only the deep frozen remains of politicians promises about Fort Regent.

Luck had a visit to a client end at around 1pm near Heather and Mark Amy at La Chasse, so was able to pop round first time in ages for a cup of tea and a nice chat, and see the dogs, all looking very healthy and happy! John Amy had popped in too at the same time. Heard from Mark that the large steam engine is nearly mended, hurrah!

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Susan Cooper:

And the mist that men called the breath of the Grey King came creeping down out of the pass and down the side of the mountains, rolling and curling and wisping, concealing all it reached, until at the last it cut oh every one of them from the rest. A rustling, flurrying sound came out of the mist, but only Will saw the great grey forms of the ghost foxes, the milgwn of the Brenin Llwyd, come rushing headlong down the mountain, and plunge into the dark lake, and disappear.
Very well behaved party of 14 girl guides with their leaders came to Astronomy Club house tonight where Neil Mahrer provided good viewing on the telescope and I did my introduction to astronomy presentation. Moon visible, and earlier Venus had been shining brightly in night sky.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Barack Obama:

We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we will need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.
Heavy evening sorting out Christmas cards and newsletters, about 90% of them done ready for posting. Amazing how long it takes to do and I send far less cards than I used to!

Locals are warned to look out for bird flu symptoms, one of which is “Swelling of the head”. Should we get the States vet in to check over some States members?

Got magazine History of Royals by mistake as it has similar cover to BBC history. But fascinating on fate of Romanovs. DNA testing proved that "Anna Anderson" was not Anastasia but Franziska Swanskovska. I must have missed that story when it came out. I remember watching the film, which left matters very ambiguous.

Just been watching The Sky at Night review of main stories in last year, fascinating stuff. Planet 9. Juno Probe to Jupiter. Gravitational waves.

Written up second part of David Christie's family story and about to start on the third and final part. 470 words.

Finished Part 3 of La Baguette piece on David Christie and off for a well-earned cup of tea! 480 words.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Homer:

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,Now green in youth, now withering on the ground:Another race the following spring supplies,They fall successive, and successive rise:So generations in their course decay;So flourish these, when those are past away.
Venus bright and beautiful in evening sky. Jupiter bright in dawn sky. A good time for two of the brightest planets.

Office party on Friday, and for those unfortunates sitting next to me, some Astronomy Quiz questions!

Off for walk in the fog!

Another very Foggy day! But change is on the way, and it will be a Compo Day on Monday, Clegg on Tuesday, while Wednesday's weather will go Nora Barry.

“In the morning I woke like a sloth in the fog.” ― Leslie Connor, Waiting for Normal
Christmas Approaches. Tis the Season to be Ironing! Yes, Sunday night again, and the old ironing board is up!

A brilliantly good Midsomer Murder. Since Neil Dudgeon has taken over from John Nettles, what was a rather tired and cliched series has revived to sparking new life.

Body count going up in Midsomer, but saddest thing was burial of Sykes, the dog.

And so to bed.. quote for tonight is from Pete Crowther:

From dawn this mistymorning we have heardthe doleful calling of the distantfoghorn warning all the sailorsof the dangers on the waters of the deep.Would that we likewise were warnedwhen dangers loom and threatento destroy, when wars, disease and greedweigh down their woes upon usand we find that we are blinded by the cold and clammy fogs of ignorance, intolerance and hate.
Alas, our foghorn was decommissioned and is not to be replaced.

Wrapping presents and watching Sleeping Murder. Joan Hickson is still the best Miss Marple, although Julia McKenzie comes a close second.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Roman Payne:

It is growing cold. Winter is putting footsteps in the meadow. What whiteness boasts that sun that comes into this wood!... How coldly burns our sun! One would say its rays of light are shards of snow, one imagines the sun lives upon a snow crested peak on this day.
Came across a Dave Allen joke, about the Church of Ireland (Anglican) vicar in Belfast and his Catholic charwoman, who kept calling him "Sir".

"I wish you wouldn't call me Sir"

"Well, what shall I call you then, Sir?"

"What do you you cal your own, ahem, priest?"

"I call him Father, Sir"

"Well call me Father too, then."

(Rev. leaves the room)

"What, him a Father with a wife and six kids!"

Watched Armando's Tale of Charles Dickens while wrapping presents. Very good documentary.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Dejan Stojanovic:

A dying star is happyIt brightensSending its gleam and a good sleep wishTo itselfWhen the star dies, its eye closesTired of watching,It flies back to its first bright dream
Watched a Rosemary and Thyme set in a Cathedral. I've never seen that one before - nice to find just one episode that was missed! The cathedral used in this episode is at Chichester, in Sussex. It's very beautiful, both outside and inside.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from W. S. Merwin:

This is what I have heardat last the wind in Decemberlashing the old trees with rainunseen rain racing along the tilesunder the moonwind rising and fallingwind with many cloudstrees in the night wind.
The new shop replacing BHS has a sale on - some sale! Still hugely pricey! I shan't be shopping there! £130 reduced from £175! I could eat for a week on the price of jumpers.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.
And so to bed... quote for tonight... actually early Christmas morning at 1 am - is from Steve Maraboli:

Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.Christmas TV so far: Dr Who. Brilliant. Less continuity heavy, and a great tribute to the Superhero films of the past, especially the first Superman movie. Aliens, suspense, and humour. Something for everyone!

Christmas TV so far: The Toys that Made Christmas. An interesting romp through yesteryear - although Lego is still with us today! Thankfully Mutant Ninja Turtles have gone.

Christmas TV so far: caught up with an old episode of the Vicar of Dibley - the Nativity one. Alice's favourite Christmas song: the one by the Wombles. You do know that Uncle Bulgaria is played by a man? What happened to him? Alice, Uncle Bulgaria is kept in a box. He's dead?! And the classic "King Herod, we love you" line. And many more.

Tried 20 minutes of Witness for the Prosecution. Turgid, and really hard going. Gave up. Watched 10 minutes of Maigret before bed, and absolutely gripping; looking forward to see the rest. Witness for the Prosecution had unbelievable characters. Maigret had a real atmosphere, and characters you could believe were real.

Watched Christmas Top Songs compilation. And there is George Michael, in Wham. And he's gone now, so suddenly. Very sad.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Ally Condie:

Writing, painting, singing- it cannot stop everything. Cannot halt death in its tracks. But perhaps it can make the pause between death’s footsteps sound and look and feel beautiful, can make the space of waiting a place where you can linger without as much fear. For we are all walking each other to our deaths, and the journey there between footsteps makes up our lives.